Flour sifter



Feb. 16 1926.

S. B. GAMBLE FLOUR SIFTER;

Filed Sept. 50. 1925 INVEN TOR .ZTTORNEY BY W M.

. a subject of the Kinglof Great Britain,

in one handvof an operator 1 Patented Feb. 16, 1926. r

' UNiTE-D STATES 1,573,513 r T OFFICE.

STANLEY on. GAMBLE, or OAKLAND; CALIFORNIA.

Q ntone sirrnn. l

lApiilication ist-paste 30, 1325. Serial No. 59, 51.

Z '0 all 11:11am it may amm- Be it known that I, STANLEY Sifters, which have heretofore been devised for operation by {one hand, alone, comsitter is held.

'prise a number of parts so arranged that the operation of such siftersis heavy and too tiresome for average housekeepers.

T he principal object construct a sitter of as few parts as possible and to arrange the parts in such a manner,

that the sitter can be operated by the pres-' sure of one finger of apersons hand while the same hand holds thelhandle;

Anotherob'ect of the invention is to construct a sitter in such manner confined to a concentrated and 'compara tively small area below the sitter, not scattered'in all directions over a comparatively. large area as is done by such slfters as are operated by being shaken vertically or .horizontally by the hand in which this type of Other objects andadvantages of my inention will be understood from the follow ing detailed description of the accompany ring drawnigs, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings: .7 Figure 1 1S a plan of the slfter constructed in accordance with my invention; and

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of it;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the container and the sieve therein and'shows the actuating element in depressed position. The dash-and-dot lines indicate a persons hand holding the sifter and also the position to 'whioh the actuating element is returned when the pressureon the actuating element is-released; and

Fig. 4: is a angle of 90 degrees from that in Fig. 3, and shows the actuating element engaging the arm of the sifting member and being held of my invention is to that, whenthe sitter is operated,the sifted product is fragmental elevation at an osition and also the arc of a circlenescribed by the end thereof duringiits movement to andfifromfsuch position.

IMy invention comprises Ra sitter in which a container 6 has inou'nte'd'on itsloutside'a handle 7, ZIIIClWItl11I1 the container is mounted a' sieve 8 having a concave upper in normal position by the spring, Dashand-dot lines show the arm in its lowermost surface't). Above the sieve is pivotally mounted within the container a sifting mem-" ber 10,'an d'the main body thereof is in this instance shown as comprising three branches 13, which are formed to s'ub'st antially conform to the shape of the upper surface 9 of the sieve f- Relativeto a horizontal plane drawn through the container and the center of the handle 7, as is shown in dash-and-d'ot lines in Fig: 1, the of the sifting mm:

ber 10, as definedby pivots 11 and 12, 1s oblique sothat an a m l t, formmganeX tension of the pivot 12 and being at an angle to; said axis, may extendjwithin the handle 7. I

A loop '15 formed in an element 16 reciprocatingly mounted in the handle 7 engages the arm '14 so that the a 111 is actuated by the reciprocating motion of the element 16 andthusalso the sifting member 10 is:

oscillated over the I ooncavesurface' 9 ofthe sieve 8. In order that tlie element 116 may be conveniently operated by. one fin'ger.,*-preferably the thumb of a persons hand'that holds the handleq', as shown in dash-and-dot lines in Fig. 3,the upperend of the element -is provided with a finger rest 17 which also serves as a stop adapted to abut against the upper portion of the handle? in order to .deter1nine",tlie extreme depressed position of the element. In thls'lnstance the finger rest 1 :isshown simply as a loop portion at right angles to the stem of the element andthe lower endio'fflthe element may be provided with a stop 18 adapted to abut against the underside of the handle when the element is in its normal position; For thefpurpose of returning the actuating element 16 from" itsfldepressed position as shown in fulllines in'Fi 3, to its normal position as shown in full ll DGS inFig. 2 and in dash-and-dotlines in'Fig. 3, a coil spring 19 is suitably hooked with its lower end in the loop 15 of the element and with its upper end into an opening formed n the upper part of the handle 7,

It'is understoodfrom the foregoing that; when the actuating "element 16 is in normal the handle 7 and releasing the pressure so as to allow the spring 19 to return the element to its normal position, it is thus seen that the sifting member is oscillated over the sieve'8. It is'further to be observed that, since the movement back and forth of the sifting member may be accomplished with a comparatively small horizontal movement, if any, of the container 6, the flour or other product sifted through the sifter 5 may be concentrated over a spot, so to speak. This makes my sifter particularly useful for flour sifting, as often small bowls are used, in which the flour is stirred after sifting, so that the operator, while using the sifter with one hand, has the other hand free for stirring and mixing the flour with other ingredients in the bowl.

F rom the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the advantages of the construction and method of operation'will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation, together with the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made, when desired, as fall within the'scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States the following 1. A sifter adapted for sifting flour or the like, said sifter comprising a container having a handle mounted on the outside thereof; a sieve mounted in the container, said sieve having an upper concave surface; a sifting member pivotally secured in the container for moving back and forth on said sieve surface and provided with an arm adapted to swing within said handle; an element mounted in said handle and engaging said arm for actuating the sift-ing mem her, said element being adapted to move downwardly from normal position by the pressure of one finger of a persons hand while the same hand holds the handle; and a coil spring having its upper end attached to the upper part of the handle and its lower end attached to said element for returning the element from depressed to normal position.

2. A sifter adapted for sifting flour or the like, said sifter comprising a container having a handle mounted on the outside there of; a sieve mounted in the container, said sieve having an upper concave surface; a sifting member pivotally secured in the container for moving back and forth on said sieve surface and provided with an arm adapted to swing within said handle; anelement mounted in said handle and engaging said arm for actuating the sifting member, said element being adapted to move clownwardly from normal position by the pressure of one finger of a persons hand while the same hand holds the handle; and a coil spring having its upper end attached to the upper part of the handle and its lower end attached to said element for returning the element from depressed to normal position, and stop means for limiting the movement of said element to either position.

3. A sifter adapted for sifting flour or the like, said sifter comprising a container having a handle mounted on the outside thereof; a sieve mounted in the container, said sieve having an upper concave surface; a sifting member pivotally secured in the container for moving back and forth on said sieve surface and provided with an arm adapted to swing within said handle; an element mounted in said handle and engaging said arm for actuating the sifting member, said element being adapted to move downwardly from normal position by the pressure of one finger of a persons hand while the same hand holds the handle; and a coil spring having its upper end attached to the upper part of the handle and its lower end attached to said element for returning the element from depressed to normal position, and stop means for limiting the movement of said element to either position, said means comprising a finger rest at the upper end of said element and a stop at the lower end thereof.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

STANLEY B. GAMBLE. 

